The Failed Sphere
by Kel Silonius
Summary: For the first time in its millennia-long history, the Tau Empire, based upon the Greater Good's unstoppable march, knew defeat. AU Set in the Cyclopean Heresy universe. Time: 993-995.M41
1. Chapter 1

The Failed Sphere.

 _"_ _For the Tau Empire, the Third Sphere of Expansion was projected to take our species beyond the Great Void. A Great Leap for the Empire, in the name of the Greater Good, like the two that preceded it._

 _In the First Sphere, we expanded beyond our home system, meeting the threat represented by the barbaric Orks…and we overcame them._

 _In the Second, we fought the Gue'la of the "True Human Empire of Thebes", which had forced its expansion in our region. We repelled their armies, and learned of the Imperium from which they had escaped. The prisoners we captured spoke of a vast empire, with numberless armies that once were theirs to command, but had cast them aside in the name of a heretical cult which they called the Heresy of Fire._

 _When the Ethereal Supreme, Aun'va, launched the Third Sphere, aimed at conquering the area of space located beyond the Great Void (Tau name for what the Gue'la call the Damocles Gulf) we assumed it would have been like the others. An astounding success for the Greater Good._

 _At first, the only opposition we met was from independent Gue'la worlds and Ork petty kingdoms. We conquered them, their forces no match for the Fire Caste and the diplomatic abilities of the Water Caste._

 _But then, when we ventured beyond the Gulf, we found the most powerful enemy we had ever faced up until then._

 _We found the Imperium of Man the Theban gue'la had warned us about._

 _And from the east, a never-seen before threat came, hungering for our flesh._

 _And for the first time, the Tau knew defeat._

 _-From The Failed Sphere, written by Aun'El T'olku Naseon. Text issued as required reading for all subjects of the Tau Empire in 997.M41._


	2. Ksi'm'yen and Taros

993.M41: Ksi'm'yen and Taros

 _"_ _The Third Sphere of Expansion has begun. Citizens of the Tau Empire, we must now struggle to bring the Greater Good to more worlds!" -Ethereal Supreme Aun'va, excerpt from the proclamation of the Third Sphere."_

-Koronta system-

The King of Koronta, Anaxandridas VII, sat on his throne and listened to the predictions of his astrologers. The new stars which had appeared in the sky were a good or a bad sign of his world?

"The new stars are a sign of great change, Your Majesty. They signify that this world and this people are about to undergo a great change in their destinies."

The King of Koronta was uneasy and gripped the throne upon which he was seated. Could this mean that a change of dynasty was about to ensue? It would be the ninth such change in Koronta's history, ever since the Age of Myth.

The Age of Myth spoke of a great empire, which was torn in two due to strife and war between two of the great worlds that formed it. According to those myths, whose knowledge was restricted to the nobility, a great vessel, grievously damaged during a battle in that civil war, had crashed upon Koronta. The survivors were forced to restart civilization anew, giving rise to the Korontan civilizations.

The peasants lived in complete ignorance and believed that an immortal God had created their species and seeded them there, giving the Kings the role of Guardians of Koronta, with rule by divine right. This set of belief was encouraged by the Priests, who in accord with the Kings, sought to maintain their power over the masses by encouraging modesty and

With every century that passed, more and more of that history had been lost. Now the kings of Koronta, who had managed to establish their rule upon the entire world (actually a single one of the three continents of the world, but that was the entirety of the world the Korontans had explored.), had no more external threats to deal with.

Would these stars in the sky mean a change?

- _Tau'n Gal'leath Gor'kir, last one of the Mark XVIII pattern-_

Por'O N'dras Manug, Veteran Ambassador of the Water Caste, looked at the world provisionally designated Ksi'm'yen. According to the remote surveillance craft they had deployed, the world was still at a quite primitive stage. The veteran Tau looked at the images of the crashed starship whose wreck was abandoned in the mountain ranges of the southern continent.

Apparently these Gue'la had crashed on the world millennia before, and had been forced to start off anew. This would prove a problem for the planned population resettlement operation. If they had lost any and all knowledge of other planets, they would strongly oppose being transferred to another…but on the other hand, they would fight for this world much harder than any Tau would.

This would make the negotiations much more interesting….

-Great Hall of Koronta-

The Water Caste shuttle had landed outside the Royal Palace. King Anaximandridas VII waited for the alien representative in his hall. As was custom, any representative had to go to the King to present his case.

The Water Caste ambassador entered the Great Hall. Seeing the lavish palace, the golden decorations on the walls, the veteran ambassador knew exactly how to appeal to the King's mind…

"You may speak."

"Honored King, I am the ambassador of the Tau Empire. As a humble follower of the Greater Good, I have come to ask you to join our Empire as true allies."

"What is that?"

"The knowledge that we are stronger together, rather than alone. Through membership in our Empire, your dynasty would be greatly enriched. Here, you are king of a lone world. In the Empire, you could be king of the entire system. Gold would flow in your coffers from all corners of the Empire…and I have a sample of that gold."

"Show it."

The Tau pulled out an ingot of gold. Unlike the raw, unrefined gold the Korontans used as money, this one was completely pure. Achieved through careful mining and Earth Caste purification techniques, it was a standard item of the Water Caste, for negotiation with primitive planets.

The King's eyes were alight with greed. The veteran Tau ambassador noticed it and smiled.

"It is magnificent."

"You can keep it. It is a token of our good will. Our Ethereals will allow you to possess many more...if you but agree to follow the course laid by them, the course of the Greater Good."

Anaxandridas VII rose from his throne, followed by his advisors. Greed showed itself in its eyes.

"Honored Ambassador, we have decided. Our world shall join the Empire."

"I am pleased to hear that. I ask for your advisors to redact a formal treaty…a mere formality."

"It will be done within the hour."

Por'O N'dras Manug smiled. T _hat is why gue'la will always fail. Their greed overshadows everything else._

* * *

 _-Yen Forest, 30 kilometers away from King Anaxandridas' palace-_

 _The hunter entered the forest, to deliver another animal to his King's halls for the upcoming banquet._

 _Yet he did not notice he had just become the prey._

 _A pair of inhuman eyes opened, after its superlative olfactory system had sensed the smell of a human being. It exited the lair it had created for itself before hibernating, and went on the hunt._

 _It quickly found his prey. The human was intent on readying his arrow towards a non-sentient animal. The creature jumped on him, pinning him down and disarming him with his six arms._

 _The human tried to free himself, but the creature was too strong. The creature turned his head, and upon realizing there were no other humans in sight, it slowly opened its mouth._

 _The auxiliary organ contained within thrusted itself within the mouth of the human, injecting within a retroviral organism which would start to subtly alter the genome of the human, as well as a fast-acting sedative which would make him sleep for an hour. More than enough for the process to be completed._

 _As the creature escaped, heading towards a small town in the vicinity to find more victims to impregnate, it did not realize the extremely complex processes happening within. Gene repressors were removed, allowing RNA trascriptases to start their work. Endocrine glands started producing powerful growth hormones. Stem cells reawakened and began to multiply in response to neuro-transmitted signals._

 _All within the creature, the program encoded within his genome activated, beginning a long process of mutation which would turn it from a simple Genestealer…to something far, far worse…._

 _From within the forest, two dozen other creatures awakened and searched for new prey…._

* * *

-Taros-

The Governor of Taros, Bastor Aulis, looked at the Auspex readings of the incoming Tau craft with wonder. He had a valuable commercial agreement with the Tau Empire. In exchange for part of the ore mined from Taros, he and the mining guilds had received items of wealth and technology which had greatly increased their prestige. The contract was going well. No one in the Imperium had noticed the metal shipped to the Tau….not yet, at least.

The Tau craft landed. From it came out a group of Fire Warriors escorting an Ethereal.

Aulis knew who the Ethereals were. Why would one of them bother himself with his world? There was the Water Caste for that…

"Bastor Aulis. I am Aun'Ui Au'taal Tor'mor, of the Tau Empire. I have come here to thank you for the assistance you have given our Empire. Your world's ore is most appreciated by the Earth Caste."

"I am honored to hear your words, Holy Ethereal." The Water Caste's lessons on how to treat with Ethereals, no matter their ranks, were running through his mind.

"However, things are changing."

"In what way, Holy Ethereal?"

"The Supreme Ethereal has decreed a new expansion of the Tau Empire. Thus I believe the time has come for our relationship to evolve."

Bastor Aulis instantly realized what the Ethereal was saying. _He wanted Taros to secede and become fully part of the Empire._

He had no love for the Imperium, which did not care for the individual worlds that made it up, but feared the Imperium's reaction. He knew the Imperium would never allow one of its worlds, no matter how small, to willingly join an alien empire.

They might send here the Guard…or worse…

"Are you worried about the Imperium's reaction, Governor?"

"Yes." _No need to hide the truth_.

"The Tau Empire shall protect your world with the same fervor as if it were T'au or Dal'yth themselves. Of that I can assure you."

Bastor Aulis was tempted. But he needed to listen to the other real power of Taros: the Mining Guilds.

"I will bring the proposal to the Mining Guilds tomorrow. I will vote in favor…but I do not know what the Guilds will do."

"I am sure they will follow the Greater Good, as all life-forms should."

The next day, 13 Asrar 11292 (Tarosian Calendar, corresponding to 001.994.M41) the Mining Guilds convened. With a vote of 10 in favor, 2 against, none abstaining, the world of Taros seceded from the Imperium and joined the Tau Empire.

The Astropaths, soul-bound to the Emperor and thus incorruptible, were murdered by Guild hitmen. Simultaneously, the trappings of Imperial power were destroyed. The Tarosian PDF abandoned the Promethean Cult, symbolically smashing the Mark of Shame, and joined the ranks of the Gue'vesa. The Governor, now-Overseer Bastor Aulis, decreed that the world be renamed T'ros.

2000 Fire Caste warriors, led by Shas'El Me'lek Irahirr took position on the new Tau world, to train the local PDF in the Tau art of warfare.

Aun'Ui Au'taal Tor'mor was appointed as the temporary Ethereal of T'ros, to remain there and manage the first stages of assimilation in the Empire, which promised to be swift…

-Horaka VII-

Adept Upsilon-33 noticed an aberration. The scheduled cargo of raw materials from Taros had not arrived.

This was the second time in two months. Odd.

Thus he sent a stream of binharic code, which rerouted a Xana-pattern automated probe assigned to catalog stellar debris towards the Taros system, to ascertain whether some sort of disaster had happened and thus caused the delay.

The probe arrived in the Taros system, and it began to send back sensor data…until it suddenly ceased all signals.

Adept Upsilon-33 checked the images the probe had managed to send…and the results were unmistakable. Taros' orbit was full of Tau vessels. He could distinguish three Merchants and one Explorer-class. The Tau controlled Taros.

He then activated a trans-com system, sending a Prioritary Report to the Main Forge of Horaka.

-Horaka VII Main Forge-

Magos Antenor Andradez received the Prioritary Report. And he was deeply worried. Taros' ore was part of what kept Horaka VII's forges at full capacity. The world had to be returned to the Mechanicum's fold at all costs. Conferring with the Prime Comptroller, he received the authorization to launch hostilities against the Tau Empire.

Andradez activated his Strategic Interface, which allowed him to display all deployments of the armies of the Horakan Mechanicum. The results displeased him. Due to the threats of the Kraken and the White Scars still threatening to escape the Maelstrom, the armies of Horaka could not be disengaged. They were key to avoiding another Great Hunt into Imperial Territory, especially after the losses incurred during the last attempt in which the Rampagers warband destroyed the Fortress World of Nerkor IV before being driven back by the Emperor's Children. Horakan forces were readapting the world of Nerkor III as a replacement.

He then noticed, not very far from Taros, a small,yet respectably powerful, fleet.

Opening the attached file, he read its content.

EXPLORATORY FLEET HOR-019. CURRENTLY ASSIGNED TO THE QUEST FOR KNOWLEDGE.

STRENGTH: 1 Oberon class Battleship

8 Dictator-class Cruisers

20 Lunar-class Cruisers

47 Escorts, various classes

TROOP COMPLEMENT: details below….

Magos Andradez sent a binharic pulse of joy. He had found the means. This would do just fine.

He turned to his aide. "Summon the Astropath. Tell him to send a message to HOR-019. Upload also the data-file codenamed Taros-001."

"Their mission has just changed."

* * *

AN: A new story, born from a sudden inspiration.

For those who follow the Heresy, rest assured: The Cyclopean Heresy proceeds as scheduled.

I want to thank you for your continuous support!


	3. The Expansion Proceeds

CHAPTER 2: The Expansion proceeds.

- _Vior'la Gal'leath Ril'vax_ , Vash'ya Mark XXIII pattern.

Date: 450.993.M41-

Aun'Vre T'olku Prinan spat as he thought about the enemy he had just faced and defeated.

Orks.

The first race that the Ethereals decreed could never understand the Greater Good. They infested this system, had built here a mockery of an Empire, where the biggest Ork ruled over all, crushing all kinds of dissent through brute force.

The Warlord had even enslaved the sentient species which had thrived upon the ninth planet of the system, reducing them to a pre-industrial state, their precedent system-spanning kingdom nothing more than a memory. It was simply barbaric.

The Fire Caste, accompanied by the Kroot and the Vespid Stingwings, had put an end to such a monstrosity. It had cost them much. Thousands of Tau, of both Fire and Air Castes, were spread upon the battlefields of this star system and in the void, but it had been worth it. The Orks were now splintered, still fighting only upon the innermost planets of the system, where the Fire Caste was impeded by the extremely cold conditions.

Now, however, it was the Water Caste's turn. The local slave race could become a fine addition to the Greater Good. They were strong, and had endured hundreds of years of Ork tyranny.

-Fi'rios IX (Temporary Designation) -

The Water Caste ambassador assigned to the fleet exited his Shuttle. A warrior group and an elder of the local aliens awaited them. Specially designed translators had been given to the aliens so they could understand the Tau language.

"I am Por'O Ke'lshan Al'vren, of the Tau Empire."

"We are the Ma'Creir'ynt. We want to thank you for freeing our world from the Greenskins. You have given us new hope."

"And you may yet receive more. Our Empire is vast, but the Greenskins have planted their banner on many more worlds. With your help, we may be able to free the entire galaxy of the Ork taint. You can serve the Greater Good by helping us."

The Ma'Creir'ynt elder was doubtful. "We spent many years chained. We do not desire to trade one chain with another."

"The Greater Good is not a chain. It is the best course for life to tread in the galaxy. Unity comes to all things, in time. United, we are stronger than we are as divided."

The elder was still doubtful. "Well, we will ask the Oracle. When a decision of such importance must be taken, the Gods must be consulted."

The Tau were led to the Holy Mountain, the place where the Gods were asked for their counsel and where their will was divined.

An old man awaited them. He was blind due to having gouged his own eyes out when chosen to be the Oracle. The Oracle had to concentrate upon the Divine World, thus he could not be distracted by the impermanence of the Mortal World by the biological eyes, which only tricked and hid the truth from those who sought it out.

The Oracle rose from his crouched position. "I can see you. And I already know what you have come for. Still, the Gods demand that I ask you. What is your question?"

"These aliens have driven the Orks from our world. Should we welcome them and allow ourselves to become part of their Empire?"

The Oracle communed with the Gods for 30 long seconds. He then answered.

"The Gods have told me this. The aliens here have stirred a great beast. The beast has sent his serpents to attack. But the serpents of the Beast will not distinguish between them and you. They will destroy both. In unity, you can have a chance…"

The Ma'Creir'ynt elder turned to the ambassador.

"The Oracle has spoken. The Ma'Creir'ynt will join the Empire."

"I am pleased to hear that."

* * *

-Morralia III. 20 Answ 1223.-

The Morralian Confederacy Space Center was in a flurry of activity. On that day, the first Gravitic Drive-equipped vessel built by Morralian Shipyards was to be launched on a five-year exploratory mission of the unknown space outside the Confederacy.

The ship, first member of her class, would first go on a resupply mission to the Morralian off-world colonies in the Morralia system, then it would dock at the Tau waystation. There, an Earth Caste specialist would be embarked as an overseer…and then, the true mission would begin.

The Director sat on his chair, thinking back to the day the history of their world was forever changed…

* * *

-Thirty years before (Terran year: 981.M41) -

The Juflaran Space Center was overseeing the launch of the Vanguard-class satellites Vanguard 2. Designed to provide them with spy imagery from the territory of the Uswurg Union, the satellites would give the Confederacy a valuable morale boost after the Uswurg beat them in the race to construct a probe to be sent to the single moon of Morralia…

"5…4…3…2…1…Liftoff!"

The booster rocket ignited, sending the payload up into orbit.

After 34 long minutes, the first telemetry data arrived. The launch had been a success. Celebrations began, but they did not last.

A low-ranking officer barged inside.

"Sir! Multiple contacts in near-orbit!"

The General looked at him with slightly-irritated eyes. "What?"

"This is straight from Near-Orbit Surveillance. Look."

To the officials' astonished eyes, fifteen objects were approaching Morralia.

"Can it be the Uswurg? Some sort of ballistic missile attack or something?"

"Negative, Sir. Their trajectory indicates they entered our system from outer space."

"Could it be an asteroid swarm?"

"We assumed it was as such, but the objects _are slowing down_."

The General looked at him astonished. "So…what are they?"

"Given the objects' regular shapes, the proportions, their vectors…the question is no longer "What are they?" but rather … " _Who_ are they?"

"Aliens?" The General looked at him with disbelieving eyes.

"We ruled out all other possibilities. No natural force can create so many objects, exactly identical to one another in every respect. This is a first contact scenario."

The General took his phone. "Get me the Council. Prioritary call."

* * *

-Morralian Space Center-

On that day, they made first contact. An alien species had found them. The Tau. They spoke about "the Greater Good" and of how Morralians and Tau would benefit from allying with one another.

The Confederate Council approved the motion, as would the Uswurg. In such a situation, all disputes for which millions had lost their lives in the preceding decades now seemed petty and insignificant.

The Tau helped them rebuild the areas devastated by the war, and negotiated a solution: the Morralian Confederacy, which allowed large spaces for autonomy yet could speak with one voice.

Still, hundreds of years of mistrust could not be erased so easily. The first off-world colony, New Swatan, had been established by a joint Uswurg-Juflar delegation after five years of negotiations mediated by the Water Caste. The captaincy of the ship which would be launched on that day had been similarly contested. In the end, the Juflar had gotten the Captain, but the Uswurg would name the first officer.

The Tau, however, would not authorize the exploratory mission without one of them on board, officially a "consultant". Sometimes, he felt the Tau had been getting out the best from the Treaty of Aer'pas, which laid out the terms of the alliance between the Tau Empire and the newly-born Morrelian Confederacy.

Their Cataphracts had given their lives on many battlefields against the Orks and the species the Tau called Gue'la…

He crushed those thoughts. Without the Tau, their species would never have left their planet, would never have colonized their home star system, would never have built the ship he had designed.

The Director of the Space Center looked as the ship activated her Gravitic Drive…and jumped into the alternate dimension which the Tau used for FTL travel.

He breathed as the ship exited it near Morralia V, where New Swatan was.

A new era was beginning for his people….

* * *

 _-Ksi'm'yen-_

 _The now-Patriarch could no longer infect other victims. Its increasing bulk would not allow it to go unnoticed any longer. But, fortunately, he had help._

 _Others of his race, carried here by the same derelict freighter, were hibernating in the forest, and his psychic power had awakened them. The Cult of the Innerwyrm was gathering converts at a rapid pace. The Hybrids were being bred together in the tunnels of the planet, forcing them to procreate and dilute their gene-pool to create Hybrids who could better infiltrate the general population._

 _Luckily, the local aliens did not have any idea of what creatures were skulking in the forest and in the city. They assumed it was a non-sentient creature, a vicious part of the local wildlife._

 _Their ignorance will be their doom._

 _Soon the first-generation Hybrids would give birth to the second generation… and make the Day of Ascension that much closer..._

* * *

-Innana VII. Location: Velk'Han Sept. Time: 991. 993. M41-

Fio'O T'au Aral, Chief of the Innana Research Facility, looked with pride at the orbital construction wrought by the followers of the Greater Good.

Around the seventh planet of the system, a cold, frigid ice giant whose rings hosted valuable raw materials and minerals, shipyards had been installed. Those shipyards would be able to produce dozens of new ships for the Kor'vattra. Even then, Aral could see a group of Lar'shi'vres under construction, while the soon to be finished main yards, which were slated to build Battleships, were already put to use by upgrading a venerable Gal'leath to the newest Mark XXIV configuration.

Yet, his role was way more important than that. It was easy to build such ships, based on tried-and-tested technology.

His team, sent to the newly-conquered Sept directly from T'au at the orders of the Ethereal Council, had to analyze and reverse-engineer the technology of the Derelict. A massive alien ship, three to four kilometres in length, which had crashed millennia before on a dead moon of the gas giant. The moon had not been colonized due to its complete lack of atmosphere, leaving the Derelict untouched.

Aral's team had discovered the ship used a forced quantum singularity as a power source. Such an advanced reactor…still functioning after millennia…Aral's mind began to fill with many ways to advance the Greater Good with such unlimited power sources. He could see fleets of ships advancing for thousands of light years without needing a refuel…entire planets powered by this technology.

It was simply glorious.

Now, all he needed was more time to perfect the Singularity Formation….and containment.

He had requisitioned an entire moon of the Innana System to run his experiments. Early results were quite unsatisfactory. Either the singularity did not begin or it formed and became impossible to contain.

That was why he had returned to the Derelict. He needed to find out how these aliens-the Kelb-or Hal, according to the fragmentary data logs recovered aboard-managed to create such a power source.

But the aliens possessed other kinds of advanced technology. New types of metals which were far stronger than the Tau equivalents used in starship construction. Powerful rays of light which could destroy an Il'fannor in a single shot, no matter whether its shields were up or down.

If he could succeed in mastering such technologies…the Tau Empire would bring the Greater Good to countless more worlds.

What a glorious vision.


	4. The Daggerfangs

CHAPTER 3: The Daggerfangs

 _"Beware when you go into the unknown, for you do not know what lies beyond..."_

 _-Interstellar void-_

"Captain's log, 33 Answ 1223. The _Aldara_ has completed its resupply mission to the Outer Colonies and New Morralia. We have picked up our Tau consultant and are now heading into the unknown space beyond the Empire and the Confederacy's borders…"

The Morralian Captain finished his log and went to the bridge.

The Tau Earth Caste Specialist, Kor'Vre D'yanoi Shi'wra, was at her station.

"Captain, we are now in the unexplored space."

"Any planetary systems?"

"Closest star system is 3.2 lightyears from here. Star type: W1."

"Sir, I am detecting something within our scanning range."

"What is it?"

"Clearly artificial in nature. It is a Warp transit aperture."

"We are not alone, then. Lieutenant, standby hailing frequencies."

"Yes, Captain."

The Warp aperture collapsed.

"How many vessels?"

"One…two…I can confirm. Two vessels on approach. Unknown configuration."

"Hail them."

-Interstellar void-

The fleet of the Alpha Legion's 91st Independent Assault Formation, or the "Daggerfangs", as they were informally called, broke out of the Warp.

The fleet had just completed its assigned mission: neutralize an Ork warlord in the Iasir Cluster. The Militarum Tempestus had then rounded up the last alien pockets of resistance.

Battle-Captain Vykus Skayle gazed out into the void. He removed his helmet and looked with his natural eyes at the stars outside.

In a Legion of information gatherers, spies and manipulators, Skayle was a swordsman at the core.

Born on the Death World of Arassuil II, he was the last child of a local dynasty of dukes. Due to already possessing two other sons, his father thought his dynasty's future was secure. He thus had no qualms on giving him up to the Alpha Legion's Recruiters.

Skayle had made his mark. While he had mastered the lessons of Alpharius, which prized misdirection and guile over open combat, he also had a talent for sword combat which bordered on the supernatural.

He had shown it on Chemos, after he entered a competition hosted by the Emperor's Children Legion Master. There, he had done the impossible: defeat a Grand Master of the Palatine Blades in 1-on-1 combat. A fight which went down in the history of the Third Legion.

Impressed by his talents, the Third Legion presented him with a prize: a pair of Power Swords of the rare Okinawa pattern. The remote world, located close to the Intergalactic Void, made very few of those swords every year, but each of them could cut through Mark VII Power Armour. He had wielded those swords ever since.

After completing his twentieth mission as a Captain against a Tzeentchian Chaos Cult in the Stedx system, the Twentieth Legion assigned him to lead the newly-formed Daggerfangs, one of the Twentieth Legion's Assault Formations, which were developed by Alpharius during the Great Crusade to fight against xeno species and human polities where infiltration was deemed impossible or too risky. They used tactics which were more similar to the other Legions, but they could still rely upon and make devastating use of the tactics of Alpharius.

An alarm interrupted Skayle's meditations. "Bridge to Battle-Captain."

"Skayle here."

"A ship just transitioned in system. It is not human. It is hailing the two escort ships of the vanguard."

"I'm on my way. Standard procedure."

-Aboard the MCS _Aldara_ (in Morralian, Destiny)-

The Aldara's communication specialist hailed the two approaching vessels.

"No response."

"Try direct communication."

"Yes, Sir. You are on."

"This is the _Aldara_ , of the Morralian Confederacy. Please respond."

The answer that came through was a Lance shot, which hit the Aldara's propulsion system. A precise hit, which knocked the Gravitic Drive offline.

"Polarize hull plating! Return fire! All weapons, fire!"

"Sir. I am detecting other ships closing in!"

"How many?"

"40."

The Morralian Captain was aghast. He had just picked a fight with 40 enemy ships. "Engineering, get us out of here! Redirect all power to the engines!"

"We are trying, sir! But...Who are you? We have been…"

The link was cut.

"What the hell is going on?"

"I am detecting four non-Morralian life signs in Engineering. They are shutting down the drive."

Before the Captain could think to respond, the air began to reek of ozone. The tactical consoles exploded, overloaded by a surge of energy.

Before the bridge crew's stunned eyes, four Terminators appeared, bearing two symbols: a serrated dagger and a multi-headed serpent.

Behind them, another one appeared, wearing a similar armor, which however sported several kill-markings and was aesthetically different, indicating (a fact which the Morralians had no ability to know) its ancient history. It was an ancient Cataphractii Pattern Terminator Armour, dating back to the Great Crusade.

"I am Vykus Skayle, of the Daggerfangs. Your ship…is now ours."

"Why?"

"You strayed into the territory of the Imperium of Man. That is a crime in and of itself."

The tactical officer attempted to attack Skayle with a Pulse Pistol, but the armor emitted a field which stopped the shot.

A Terminator then hit the officer with a Power Fist. He was flung to the opposite part of the bridge, dying on impact.

"Prepare yourself …for questioning."

Two decks below them, Mark VI armor-equipped Astartes began extracting information from the ship's databanks. Schematics, stellar cartography, weapons...anything that could aid in the next battle against those newly-discovered aliens.

The Morralian ship was then boarded by two Thunderhawks, one of which carried the real Vykus Skayle aboard, fully adorned in his rare Arkonak Pattern Terminator Armor.

He went towards his decoy, Battle-Brother Aquimeon.

"I am the one and the many." He intoned.

Aquimeon finished. "I am the beginning and the end." Then, in unison, the two said: "I am Alpharius."

"So, who did we intercept?"

"Apparently this is an exploratory vessel. No weapons capable of truly harming us."

"Tell Hekastis Nul we will need his skills for these aliens."

"Yes, Battle-Captain."

The Morralians and the Tau were brought to a cargo bay located inside the ship. Hekastis Nul, the Daggerfangs' Interrogator-Librarian, awaited them.

"Nul, they are all yours."

The crew then felt their minds probed, as Nul deployed his powers. The crew felt not violent coercion, they instead felt reassuring voices which somehow compelled them to speak and answer the questions they posed to them…

-Astrometrics lab of the -REDACTED-

"According to the data we managed to extract from their ship, we are here…" the emblem of the serrated dagger appeared "relative to their state, the Morralian Confederacy."

The emblem of the Morralian state, a blue and yellow shield, appeared.

"And here…is the Tau Empire. Their overlords."

A spherical section of space, spanning many sectors, appeared. It extended up to the Damocles Gulf, with some systems beyond being registered as Tau economic partners.

"Why didn't the Imperium assemble an armada against them?"

"It did, in 740.M41. The Damocles Assault Force. However, in 741.M41, Hive Fleet Behemoth appeared from the Ghoul Stars and all available ships were rerouted there to help the Night Lords. The planned operation was officially aborted in 743.M41."

"How many species does this Empire possess?"

"According to the alien Technical Specialist, the Empire possesses more than fifteen species, some Humans included. The others, those who called themselves Morralians, are one of the newest additions."

Vykus Skayle reflected upon the newly acquired information.

"Can we relay the information to any other Imperial forces?"

"Negative, Lord Skayle. We already tried, but our fleet is the only one in the vicinity with sufficient power to take on this Empire. All other assets in the area are busy engaging the Kraken's splinters in an attempt at containing them."

"If the alien here is correct, the Tau are executing an Expansion Campaign. Millions of Imperial lives might be lost if we do not stop them!"

"I know, Sir. But …they are classified as a minor threat in comparison to the Tyranids and the Traitor Legions."

"I strongly disagree. This "minor threat" has been capable of building an Empire and of convincing Humans to leave the Emperor's realm and willingly join it. I hardly would call them a minor threat. Rather, I believe they are more dangerous than the Orks. Or, they have the potential to be."

"So…what is the plan?"

Vykus Skayle thought about it…then he reached a decision.

"Plot a new course. We will deliver a mighty blow to this Empire. If we do not succeed in destroying them, at least we will force them to set back their plans for conquest for some time. Brief the other Legionaries."

"Yes, Battle-Captain."

Vykus Skayle looked at the map of the Tau Empire assembled from the data-charts of the Aldara.

It would be difficult…but the knowledge he had gathered here made him believe this Empire could subvert the minds of Human beings in a way akin to that of Chaos.

He _had_ to destroy it. He felt his soul agree.

* * *

 _-Ksi'm'yen-_

 _The cult was growing steadily. The infected humans and Tau were reproducing at an impressive speed, the Acolyte noted. But the Hybrids were surpassing them, their maturation greatly increased by the genes of the Holy Patriarch. The Cult of the Innerwyrm was spreading itself all over the planet…_

 _A scream interrupted his train of thoughts. Perhaps this was the time._

 _The fourth generation of hybrids had been created, and the Purestrains, those closest to the Holy Patriarch himself, had sought out gifted hosts…a task complicated by the complete absence of gifted Tau._

 _The first attempt was a failure. But this woman, the daughter of the King's brother, showed promise. The Genestealers had abducted her and brought her here, in their lair located in an ancient, long-abandoned castle's dungeon, once used as a prison by the Fifth Korontan Dynasty of Kings._

 _The screaming increased, until a baby scream pierced the air._

 _The Acolyte inspected the newly-born baby…and was mesmerized by the power he radiated._

 _He gave him to his mother. The psychic bond was fully in place, cementing her place as a full-fledged cult member. He smiled, his half-alien smile horrible to behold._

 _The Magus was born. The Time of the Ascension was getting ever closer._

A birth was usually celebrated by all. But this one will help bring an horrible, agonizing death to millions…

* * *

Hopefully it sounded close to the Alpha Legion-style. Please Review!


	5. The Fate of Taros

CHAPTER 4: The Battle of Taros

 _"A world named Taros never existed in the history of the Imperium." -Standard Administratum respons to any query upon a planet known as Taros._

-T'ros system-

The _Il'fannor T'au Gra'som_ , built in the great Shipyards of T'au, was entering the T'ros system, carrying new mining equipment for the new Sept. After disembarking its cargo, it would remain there and become a part of the System Defensive Fleet.

A ping began appearing upon the Navigational Sensors, three kilometers from the ship. Then two. Then three. Four. Five.

Soon an entire fleet had appeared in the Mandeville Point of the Taros system.

The _Gra'som_ activated its ZFR Accelerator Engine, but a quick shot from the enemy flagship disabled her.

The captain of the vessel turned to his Water Caste communications expert. "Hail them."

Por'Vre Tash'var Shi'jor activated the com system. "This is the _Gra'som_ , of the Tau Empire. State your intentions."

The answer came quickly, transmitted on all channels. "I am Magos Merchurion of the Horaka-019 Exploration Fleet. You have led this world astray. I am here to set this world back on the path of the Omnissiah."

A Cruiser launched Boarding Parties towards the _Gra'som_. The rest of the fleet headed directly towards T'ros, to deliver the Omnissiah's Judgment upon the desertic world.

-T'ros Command Center-

Horaka.

The word made Bastor Aulis' world spin. The Forge World which had pacted Taros to its service millennia before was now coming to return it back to the fold.

With the Guard, one could hope to prevail. Especially if they had no or only a single company of Astartes accompanying them. The Mechanicum was another thing entirely.

They could call upon long-lost technical wonders and reasoned solely on cold logic, having no emotions which could sway their minds from the ultimate goal.

Aun'Ui Au'taal Tor'mor summoned the local Fire Caste commanders.

"Shas'El Me'lek Irahirr, you are named Shas'O for the duration of the battle. How many warriors do we possess?"

"We have 8000 Fire Caste members, mostly from Me'lek and Vior'la. Another 8000 warriors of the Gue'vesa forces. The Mining Work Gangs are ready to be activated as reserve troops."

"Kor'O Dal'yth Giruth, what is our fleet's strength?"

"We have 1 Gal'leath Mark XXIV Bor'kan, the _Shi'ko_ , as my flagship. 6 Il'fannors, 13 Lar'shi cruisers."

"Send a messenger ship to the Tau Empire. We need reinforcements. In the meantime, we shall apply the Kauyon, while luring them in range of the Missile Siloes. When they will be in range, we shall deliver the Mont'ka. If they succeed in landing, we will apply the Kauyon in the same manner."

"Yes, Holy One."

"Aulis, I expect your forces to be ready for the coming battle."

"Do not worry, Holy One. We shall fight side by side with the Tau."

-Battleship HOR-313-8242-

Magos Merchurion looked at the Tau vessels. They were not approaching. He calculated a 78.813% chance of an ambush.

"Launch all fighters. Tell them to form up around our vessels. Engage the enemy at long range."

"Copy that."

"Sir, I am detecting a heat spike in the Missile Siloes of Taros. They are readying them for launch."

Those missiles could cripple an Imperial vessel. "Can we target the enemy siloes from space?"

"Not at this range. We need to get closer…and in their range."

Magos Merchurion's eyes lit with displeasure. They had installed those siloes to defend the planet from the Tau, not for this!

"Very well. We must take their bait."

"Sir?"

"At this range, we cannot inflict much damage. The more we wait, the more time we give their reinforcements to arrive. If we instead get very close to them, they will have problems with the missiles. They won't be able to hit us without risking friendly fire casualties. At the same time, our superior weapons will negate their advantages."

"Yes sir. How close are we getting?"

"Point-blank. Reroute all spare energy to the engines."

-Bridge of the _Shi'ko_. -

The Tau admiral saw the Horakan ships suddenly accelerate and head straight towards him.

"Launch all fighters. Shields at maximum. Tell the Missile Siloes to begin firing."

"Yes, sir."

The Lar'shi cruisers opened fire upon the Horakan vessels. But the enemy Void Shields were too strong, and shrugged off the hits. The Mechanicum ships returned fire. A Grav-Cannon shot from the Oberon hit a Lar'shi cruiser and caused it to implode upon itself, an artificial gravitational anomaly forming inside it.

The Tau fighter squadrons of the Air Caste tried to hit a Cruiser. An escort Frigate fired its Point-Defense Cannons, forcing them to abort and attack the Frigate instead. The ship was damaged, but still in the fight. The Fighter squadrons of the Mechanicum, piloted through MIU units, had thousands of years of experience selected through memory files from past Imperial Navy aces. It was a procedure frowned upon by Mars, but Horaka had always been…more pragmatic.

The Tau Air Caste, whose bodies were specially adapted for zero-g conditions, found themselves hard pressed. No matter how impossible it seemed, the Mechanicum fleet was making headway against the Tau. The missile siloes fired a barrage, but all they could do was destroy one Light Cruiser, which Merchurion purposefully left behind to absorb the shots, while leaving the heavy units intact. As Merchurion had calculated, they were not willing to risk killing their own.

Kor'El Dal'yth Giruth contacted the Tau Command Center.

"Holy One, the situation here is critical. Our ships are no match for theirs. What did the Empire say about reinforcements?"

"The messenger ship will arrive in five hours, to Fi'rios! Resist, Admiral! For the Greater Good!"

"Yes, Holy One. For the Greater Good." The link was then cut.

The Ethereal called the Missile Siloes. "Tau Command. You are authorized to disregard friendly fire risk. Destroy as many as you can."

"Yes, Holy One."

The missiles soon began to make their mark. Two Dictators exploded in rapid succession. A Luna-class Cruiser was crippled. Its commanding Magos however had enough time to override its navigational controls and pilot it to ram the enemy flagship. As the flaming ship crashed into the Gal'leath, its reactors detonated, destroying both ships.

As the Tau and the Tarosian Gue'vesa watched in horror, the now-leaderless Tau fleet was mowed down by the Horakan forces, with many ships reduced to flaming debris before the rest escaped, to bring word to the other Septs and help them in the counteroffensive.

Space belonged to the Mechanicum.

Magos Merchurion analysed again the tactical situation. His Skitarii would have to land on a hostile desertic world, its land-based defenders fully aware of their presence, fully stocked up on food and ready to fight for months on end.

Illogical. Yet, if he lingered, the Tau would get reinforcements and thus complicate the tactical scenarios. Also illogical.

A sudden realization hit him. His mission parameters required him to get the planet back into the fold of the Imperium and the Mechanicum.

They did not say anything _about its population of Humans_ , who had turned their back on the Imperium, the manifestation of the Omnissiah Himself.

"All ships, this is Magos Merchurion. I am hereby giving the authorization to use thermonuclear ammunition upon the world below us. Target any and all concentrations of biological life-forms. Bombardment pattern Delta-2."

All ships signaled green. From the missile tubes of the Mechanicum vessels dozens of armed Xana-pattern Thermonuclear Missiles emerged. Each one carried 10 Multiple Independently Targetable Warheads, with a yield of 300 kilotons each.

The missiles separated in their sub-units, which detonated upon the city of Tarokeen, over the Hydro-Processing Plant in the north, and all over the planet in a carefully arranged pattern designed to cause maximum casualties and a sudden burst of gamma rays, which would cause massive casualties from radiation sickness.

Bastor Aulis was petrified at what the Mechanicum had done. He looked at a pillar made of rare Tarosian marble, which formed part of the Command Center….then he saw nothing more, as the Center crumbled above him, trapping him within.

-Ruins of Occupied Tarokeen-

Magos Merchurion exited his personal Horaka-pattern Thunderhawk, salvaged millennia before from an ancient battlefield and painstakingly repaired and restored to its former glory. His radiation counter told him that the radioactive isotopes had already decayed, meaning he could walk safely on the surface.

He looked at the ruins of Tarokeen, which were being cleared to make way for the new Mining Complexes planned for Taros.

No, he corrected himself, for Mining Outpost HOR-441, as it was now known, would always be known, and, if his contact within the Administratum did not exaggerate… _had always been known._

He looked at the Servitors deployed at the Clearing Sites, focusing his photoreceptors upon one in particular.

The former Governor, Bastor Aulis, now Heavy Lifting Unit #32, was hefting up a boulder of radioactive stone. The deadened eyes of the once-proud man proved the success of the new lobotomization technique he had tested upon him. He estimated his remaining biological components would last another 9 months before suffering too much rad damage.

 _Such is the fate of those who defy the Omnissiah._

* * *

-Venus, Main Administratum Buildings-

Historical Revision Units troopers trod the hallways. They had been tasked, through a prioritary astropathic message, to erase all data pertaining to the rebellious world of Taros from the archives of the Imperium.

The hallways were dark. A scholar was revisiting some data-charts upon the history of the Kiltor Sector when a silent bullet ended his life. No one could witness a Historical Revision and live with the knowledge of the existence of an alternate timeline. It could destroy the very foundation of the Imperium. And their sanity.

The HRU major stopped. They had found the Taros archive. Mining quotas, Administratum requests for more tithes or personnel from Correctional Institutions on Penal Worlds, a record of a Praetor of an Astartes Legion visiting the planet, the numeral XVII still clearly visible upon the parchment.

The major turned to his men. "Activate Flamers. Burn it all."

The men-all veterans with more than a dozen such operations in their career records (which would be erased with their deaths) -lit the fire.

The historical records of Taros were reduced to dust.

"Sergeant, substitute."

The sergeant pulled out a new series of records-the ones written by the Temporal Revisors, the successors to the ancient Iterators-wiped away the dust of the previous records and placed the new ones upon the flame-proof shelves.

The HRU returned to its barracks. Soon, specially-designated teams would do the same operation on every planet of the Imperium that had any inkling of contact with the world of Taros, while propaganda departments would sing praises and celebrate the victory on HOR-441.

The Mining World of Taros was no more. And if the HRU had executed the operation correctly…

 _…_ _a world named Taros never existed in the history of the Imperium._

 _(Standard Administratum response to any query upon the world of Taros, from 995.M41 onwards.)_


	6. The Fall of the Morralian Confederacy

CHAPTER 5: The Fall of the Morralian Confederacy.

"The Hydra is here to deliver you from the chains of the Empire…." Automated vox-signal sent from the Daggerfangs fleet during the Morralian War. (994.M41)

-Morralia. 01 Sandesa 1224.-

This was a day of mourning. The ship which had opened their path to space had been lost with all hands. Not even the Tau had managed to reestablish contact with the _Aldara_.

The name of the heroes who made up the crew of the Aldara were recited in all Morralian cities. The distinction between Uswurg and Juflar dissolved in the wake of the tragedy.

The Cataphracts arrayed themselves in honor guard formation, fighters displaying the typical rhomboid formation which signified grief in Morralian culture. Pulse Gun salutes were fired by the Cataphracts.

The Morralian priests chanted prayers to the Gods, asking for the souls of the crewmembers to be given passage into heaven…

They did not know that soon, all of them would need those prayers…

-New Morralia. 03 Sandesa 1224.-

The colonists were busy working upon the fields, harvesting fruits to be sent back to Morralia on Tau ships. They had heard of the loss of the Aldara, and it grieved them.

Suddenly, the sun was obscured. As they looked up in astonishment, a single Mars-class Battlecruiser disgorged several dropships, each one of them carrying a detachment of the 32nd Thetoid Eagles.

The Militarum Tempestus strike force disembarked and began to gun down any Morralian in sight.

The local Police detachment began responding, but they were no match for three battalions of Tempestus troopers, drilled by inflexible Drill Abbots and later by Alpha Legion Sergeants.

The Battle of New Morralia ended seven hours later, with almost no casualties for the attackers. Two minutes later, colonization ships began to land the first wave of colonists and the prefabricated units which would be the foundation of the Human colony world of Theta-32-43 (official Administratum name still pending…)

This would however pale in comparison to what Vykus Skayle planned to unleash upon the Morralian system itself. He would unleash the weapon the Eighth Legion had perfected to its maximum possible use.

Fear and hopelessness.

The first inkling that something was wrong was that the messenger ships sent to New Morralia never came back, with no signal ever reaching the Morralian system.

Soon, however, the real nature of the threat the young xeno race was facing would present itself in the most terrifying way…

-Morralia System Orbital, Morralia VII asteroid belt. -

The Tau workers of the Morralian Orbital were waiting for the third messenger ship to arrive.

Kor'Ui Elsy'eir Manara, the Acting Orbital Overseer after his superior had departed upon a Lar'shi cruiser bound for New Morralia to ascertain the situation, looked upon the displays. Nothing out of the ordinary, except a strange spatial anomaly which had appeared next to the gas giant Morralia VIII. The Earth Caste specialist, Fio'Vre Tash'var Oxaara, believed it was nothing more than a local gaseous anomaly.

However, he was skeptical. So he redirected a local Morralian vessel, a Frigate, to investigate.

"Orbital to MCS _Orkonil_. What do you see?"

"Our exploration fighters are not reporting anything out of the ordinary. There is only empty space…Wait…Something is appearing…"

The line went dead. Alarms began flashing all over the screens of the Orbital.

-ALERT: THERMONUCLEAR EXPLOSION DETECTED IN QUADRANT 38. ESTIMATED YIELD: 44 mon'som (Note: roughly equivalent to 300 kilotons of TNT)

-ALERT: DISTRESS CALL SENT FROM THE MORRALIAN VIII LUNAR COLONIES. -

He played the distress call.

"This is Morralia VIII colony 03. Unknown attackers have dropped into our colony. They are using solid-shot weapons of unknown origin! We are resisting, we do not know however for how long…!" The sound of a Bolter cut the line.

The distress call was cut. The Kor'Ui turned to his Water Caste specialist, Por'Ui Vash'ya Siouth. "Send a general alarm, on both Morralian and Tau channels! Morralia is under attack!"

"I cannot, Sir! Something is jamming all our intra-system frequencies!"

"Send a messenger ship to Morralia III! Oh, hell, I will pilot it myself. You coordinate…"

"Sir, a large object just exited the Warp above us!"

"How big?"

"If my scanners are functioning properly, Kor'Ui…it is 5.8 kilometres long."

"A Battleship. Then…" He was interrupted by the sound of Boarding Torpedoes, which penetrated the armored Command Center, disgorging three Tactical Squads of the Daggerfangs and a Castraferrum Pattern Dreadnought. The bolters they carried soon mowed down the bridge personnel, reducing their brains to scattered particles.

Then, specialists began extracting all information available from the Orbital's databanks. Force deployment, new weapons, the complement of warriors inside the Morralian system…

-Morralia III-

In four hours, the system had gone from a peaceful existence to a besieged state. Cruiser formations had appeared all over the system, attacking all off-world colonies simultaneously. The Morralian fleet attempted to respond, but it found itself overmatched by the technological superiority of the enemy. "The Daggerfangs" as they called themselves, had already conquered the colonies around the two gas giants, as well as the mining colonies of Morralia Prime. The Tau orbital in the Asteroid Belt was still heavily contested between the Morralian Cataphracts and the Daggerfangs.

The Ethereal assigned to the Fire Caste garrison of Morralia III arrived in the Main Command Center, formerly a Command and Control bunker used by the Uswurg during the last intra-Morralian war.

Aun'El T'au Braot, who had been assigned there by the Ethereal Council, was accompanied by his Honour Guard, Fire Warriors who had chosen to abandon the usual progression to Battlesuit commander to protect the life of the Ethereal. Their belief in the Greater Good bordered on the fanatical, even for Tau standards.

The Tau inside the bunker were heartened by the sight of the Ethereal. Not so the Morralians, who were close to panicking.

They felt that their military was close to breaking against the tide of the enemy assault. That this enemy was unbeatable, for it could disappear and reappear at a whim, while wielding overwhelming force.

A Morralian captain voiced his feelings. "Sir, perhaps we should try to understand why they are attacking us. Perhaps we could negotiate an agreement…"

He was swiftly interrupted by a Honor Guard. "Negotiation with the enemies of the Greater Good is not an option. Your disloyalty…"

"Calm down, Shas'Vre. It is natural to react irrationally. But we must overcome such impulses, and stand together, for only in unity there is purpose."

The Tau nodded in agreement, while silently inserting Pulse Rifle ammo inside their rifles. The Morralians understood the not-so-hidden message and nodded to the Ethereal.

Suddenly, the splinters of the Daggerfangs' fleet came back together, rushing towards Morralia III at full speed. The Morralian-Tau fleet arrayed itself to defend the planet and its billions-strong population.

The Daggerfangs' fleet halted. A tense standoff began.

In the bunker, a transmission was received, coming straight from the Daggerfangs. It invaded all known frequencies. An Astartes, clad in silver-encrusted Mark VII armor, appeared.

"I am Vykus Skayle, Master of the Daggerfangs Legion.

Soldiers of the Morralian Confederacy and citizens of the Morralian race, our quarrel is not with you. Your leaders have foolishly decided to ally your race with the Tau Empire, an expansionist tyranny which chose to attack territory belonging to the Imperium of Man, the state which we, the Daggerfangs Legion, represent on this day. Your colonies have been conquered, the banner of the Hydra rising high upon them, the civilian population safe from harm...if you do not take wrong decisions.

The Tau plan to fight to the death…for a planet that never belonged to them. It is your planet. You should not die for the Tau Empire. Surrender…and I, Vykus Skayle, guarantee that your people on the off-world colonies will be spared from any harm. You have two of your hours to decide."

The link was then cut. The Ethereal then turned to his Earth Caste technical specialist.

"Did you triangulate the signal?"

"I did. The signal came from that ship." He pressed a button, and an image of the ship appeared. A Defiant-class Light Cruiser. "At first sight, it looks similar to other cruisers, but if we look attentively, we can see some sort of communication systems upon it. It is my opinion that this marks it as the command ship."

"All units, this is the Aun'El. We have located the enemy commander. Launch the Mont'ka with all our forces. If we manage to kill him, the enemy might be forced to withdraw."

The Tau ships-2 Lar'shi, 4 Kir'qath and 1 Il'Porrui-immediately signaled ready. Not so the Morralian frigates, many of which had survived the battles in the colonies by escaping, realizing they were completely outclassed by the enemy ships.

"Honored Ethereal, this is Morralia One. Our crewmembers have families on those colonies! If we launch this attack, their occupation troops might kill them!"

"We cannot hesitate now! If we do not strike now, the window of opportunity might close!"

"What does the head of the Confederacy say?"

All eyes turned upon the Confederate President, Sanow Ajjier, who was also in the bunker. He had been named by the Tau as the leader of the Confederacy, as part of the Treaty of Aer'pas. An ardent supporter of the Greater Good, he had no hesitation.

"Execute. Follow the Tau battle-plan."

The Tau vessels arrayed themselves in attack formation, ready to deliver the Mont'ka…when another transmission from Morralia One came.

"This is Haye Anroe, Executive Officer of the Morralia One. I have seized command of the vessel. Our crew denounces the Morralian Confederacy as an illegitimate government, manipulated by the Tau, who would sacrifice my entire family and all those on Morralia Prime and the other off-world colonies rather than negotiate. I hereby reject the order to attack and ask the Daggerfangs a ceasefire as a precondition to negotiation. If the Tau want to die, so be it. We will not risk our families for them!"

The Ethereal was unperturbed, while President Ajjier was furious. This upstart off-worlder had just undermined his authority on the eve of battle! And for what…

The President realized he had to crush this dissent before it could spread. He sent a prioritary message to one of the Captains he could trust as a committed follower of the Greater Good.

"MCS _Baknab_ , this is President Ajjier. I am naming you the new flagship of the Morralian Fleet. Take a few vessels with you and retake the _Morralia One_. Do you copy, Captain?"

"Yes, sir."

The _Baknab_ charged its main railgun and headed towards the Morralia One. The Tau vessels held formation, ready to spring into action on a moment's notice. They could not deliver the Mont'ka on the enemy command ship until the situation in the Morralian fleet was resolved. There was too much uncertainty.

The _Baknab_ entered weapons range…only to be disabled by a quick, precise missile shot from the _Morralia One_. Infighting soon began to ensue among the Morralian fleet, with those who were committed loyalists to the Confederacy and the Tau Empire firing upon those who were unwilling to risk the lives of the millions of Morralians held hostage by the Daggerfangs Legion, with the undecided taking no sides in the internecine battle. The Tau were ordered by the Ethereal to assist the Morralian loyalists in destroying the secessionists.

All this without the Daggerfangs having to fire a single shot.

The Daggerfangs then began firing their long-range weapons, selectively targeting the Tau vessels. The Il'Porrui exploded after being hit by two Lance shots in rapid succession, but the superior firepower of the Tau vessels soon took their toll upon the Morralian secessionists, who were forced to flee… and were covered by the long-range fire of a Daggerfangs Overlord-class Battlecruiser.

As soon as the last clearly rebel ship left orbit and headed into the void, surrendering to the Daggerfangs, the Astartes began to fire upon the remaining Tau vessels and upon those Morralian ships evidently loyal to the Confederacy with their entire arsenals, destroying them in short order.

The undecided ships, upon seeing the carnage unfolding before their eyes, hastily struck their flags and surrendered.

Space control belonged to the Daggerfangs.

Now, all that remained to do was conquering the planet below. Vykus Skayle decided to press on the moral weakness.

"Citizens of Morralia, your fleet is dispersed and has surrendered to us. The crew is being treated according to the laws of war. The Tau Empire will have no qualms about sacrificing you all for their bloodthirst. All you have to do is follow the fleet's example. Rise up, and overthrow your overlords!"

The message was accompanied by the supplications of a Morralian POW, and repeated every sixty seconds.

The Tau Fire Caste upon the planet were deployed by the Ethereals to ensure the Morralian Cataphracts would remain loyal. But it was all for naught. The Morralians had already surrendered to their own terror…and to the hope of preserving their race's existence by surrendering.

The Morralian Cataphracts revolted against the Tau, followed in short order by the civilian population. The Confederate Parliament reconvened to discuss the terms of surrender. The Tau Fire Caste gunned them down.

But the Tau were soon overwhelmed by the sheer desperation of a people who thought they were saving themselves from violent extinction.

After a few hours of waiting, the Daggerfangs received the awaited message from Morralia.

"The Morralian Confederacy is no longer in charge of Morralia. All Cataphracts units are standing down. We, the Morralian people, surrender to the Imperium of Man."

Vykus Skayle grinned. All this without the loss of a single Astartes. Only a few dozens Armsmen from the Navy units he had requisitioned had been lost in this war.

A great victory, by any standard.

-Morralia III. 12 Sandesa 1224.-

Aboard the Daggerfangs Battle Barge _Xiphos_ , the Instrument of Surrender was signed. Compared to the fate most xenos faced after enduring defeat at the hands of the Imperium of Man, it was a light sentence.

The Morralians were restricted to their home planet of Morralia III. The off-world colonists were readmitted to the planet, after thorough vetting processes to ensure no Tau loyalist ever made it back.

The Morralian Confederacy, seen as the puppet of the Tau occupants, was dissolved and replaced by the New Morralian State, which would rule the planet.

Morralia III was declared a Quarantined World by Vykus Skayle, while the remaining planets of the system were settled by Imperial colonists and reused as Mining Worlds.

After that, the Daggerfangs departed, leaving the Morralians to enjoy their newfound freedom.

* * *

-ORDO XENOS FILE: The Morralian Gambit-

One may ask why Vykus Skayle chose to spare the Morralians. In the Imperium, standard procedure upon contact with a warp-capable xeno species allied with a known enemy such as the Tau would have been planetary genocide and repopulation.

Instead, Skayle let them live. The results of this Gambit have been unexpectedly positive for the Imperium, however.

The Tau Empire has tried many times to retake the star system, but in all cases, it treated the Imperial colonies as secondary targets, focusing their main efforts on the Morralians, which the Tau declared Monte'vesa, literally "helpers of Terror".

The repeated Tau invasions have led the Morralians to seek help and weapons, creating a haven for weapons dealers who desire to sell second-hand Imperial weaponry. Weapons such as the Lucius Mark XCI pattern Lasgun, long outdated and replaced by the Mark XCVIII, have found a second life in the hands of the Morralians, who have never fallen behind on a payment. They proved even willing to buy Leman Russes which were rated not good enough for the PDF to use.

The resources gathered by the Imperium in such transactions have been put to use on many warzones.

All attempts of the Morralians to begin a self-sustained weapons industry ended in sabotage and terrorist bombings, all claimed by the Servants of the Greater Good, a terrorist organization which seeks to return Morralia to the Tau Empire. The organization has no qualms on killing hundreds of their own people, a stance which drove the Morralians further into the embrace of the local Sector Governor, Severus von Ursash.

" _The other Legions believe that mercy is a weakness. In many cases, they are correct. But in my opinion, there are situations where mercy can become a weapon more powerful than an entire Cruiser squadron." - Primarch Alpharius._

* * *

AN: For those who may think of this battle as un-Astartes behavior, remember.

This is the Alpha Legion. A Legion which prizes misdirection, confusion, subterfuges...and is willing to use tactics other Legions would think of as utterly dishonorable.


	7. Countdown to Apocalypse

CHAPTER 6: Countdown to War.

 _"COUNCIL ORDER 212: All Morralians in the Tau Empire are to be terminated with immediate effect."_

-T'au-

The Ethereal Council heard of the Morralian Betrayal in an emergency session.

"This is outrageous! An entire species going against the Greater Good…impossible. Individualism is a true cancer for the Empire." Said Aun'El Au'taal Fio'elo.

"They must pay for their insolence!" said Aun'El Vior'la Bun'rak. "This betrayal of the Tau must be washed clean in their blood!"

Many concurred with his assessment.

Then, the room quieted. Aun'o'T'au'Acaya'Va'Denta, Master of the Undying Spirit, Supreme Ethereal of the Tau Empire, entered the Council Chamber, escorted by his Honor Guard of 50 Tau Fire Warriors specially chosen for their undying loyalty.

"You are right to focus your wrath upon the Morralians. They will be punished appropriately. However, these "Daggerfangs", this "Lord Vykus Skayle" ….is the preeminent threat to the Empire at the moment. We must first eradicate his warriors or expel them from the Empire's borders, before bringing our wrath upon the vile renegades."

The entire Council nodded in agreement with Aun'va's assessment. The oldest Ethereal in the Council always expressed the wisest advice. To disagree seemed like the most crass admission of ignorance.

"Speaking of which, where are the Morralian mercenaries attached to our forces?"

"Most of them are in the newly-conquered Vesh'yo Sept. A few thousands are garrisoned in Vior'la for the upcoming trans-Void offensive."

"Order the Fire Caste to purge the Morralians. They are too high a risk to keep as allies. Then send a messenger ship to tell the assembled Expeditionary Force to withdraw. Their firepower must be added to our fleets against the Daggerfangs, and to those already defending the core worlds."

The Ethereals nodded in agreement. It was hard to postpone the planned expansion, but the survival of the Empire came before everything else.

"Aun'El Fal'shia Hovaarn, I entrust this duty to you."

"I will do what the Greater Good requires of me."

Aun'Va then turned to a Fire Caste commander.

"Shas'O Tash'var Wranara, where is the enemy fleet heading?"

"According to our estimates, the enemy fleet is following a straight trajectory along the Morralia-Ksi'm'yen Sept. If they keep following that course, they will reach the Ksi'm'yen Sept in one week, according to our estimates."

"Aun'El Ksi'm'yen Tor'hos, I name you as the overall Ethereal Commander of all forces in Ksi'm'yen. Take the Second T'au Defense Fleet and make haste for Ksi'm'yen. You are authorized to hire mercenaries on my behalf. If Ksi'm'yen falls, Dal'yth will be next…And then…the core worlds. You must stop them at all costs."

"As you wish, Supreme Ethereal."

* * *

-Unknown world, Vesh'yo Sept-

The Morralian 31st, 32nd and 41st Cataphracts had just won a great victory against the Orks. They had sustained heavy losses, but the Tau had successfully slain the enemy Warboss. The resulting infighting had spelled irrevocable defeat for the Orks.

As they returned from the battlefield to the main Tau barracks, they noticed a large formation of Fire Warriors and Gue'vesa waiting for them, Pulse Rifles in hand. The Morralians did not understand why. The battle was won. There was no need for such ordered battle formations…

They were still wondering _why_ when the Tau and the Humans, picked from the most loyal units of the Vesh'yo Sept, _opened fire upon them_ , slaughtering them all.

Thus happened the Vesh'yo Incident, an event which soon was secreted with the highest possible secrecy level by the Ethereal Council. A few inquisitive humans and Tau tried to uncover the events that led to the Morralians' death. They were taken for questioning.

None of them was ever seen alive again. Their bodies were found, and the autopsies established as the cause of death "Natural diseases."

The Ethereal watching the carnage said impassively. _"A shame. But their world's betrayal towards the Greater Good must not go unpunished."_

-Vior'la Sept-

The messenger ship of the Ethereal landed. Commander Shadowsun awaited his arrival with excitement.

The message that came with the envoy of the Council, however, was not the one she had waited so long for. The Ethereal just ordered her to abort her mission and return straight to T'au for briefing and redeployment against the new enemy who had dared to assault the Empire.

First the loss of T'ros to an unknown cyborg army, then the Morralians' betrayal, which she had kept secret from her soldiers…and now this.

"I will obey. For the Greater Good."

The Tau fleet turned 180 degrees and made haste towards the edge of the system. All except the troopship allocated to the Morralian 8th Cataphracts, who was ordered to remain in position.

A Vior'lan Orbital Defense Cannon powered up and fired upon the troopship, aiming directly for the main reactor. The ship, unprotected against such a betrayal, exploded, taking her complement of 10.000 Morralians along with her.

Officially, the Tau described the incident as "a misfiring of the cannon, which was taken offline for repairs by the Earth Caste immediately after the incident."

Thus was the purge of the Morralian Cataphracts completed. The Kroots deployed inside the Empire proceeded to do the same to any and all Morralian civilians registered in the Tau Empire archives.

Very few survived.

* * *

-Ksi'm'yen-

The Ethereal Council member of Ksi'm'yen (and thus the highest-ranking Tau of the entire Sept, with near-absolute power when acting under the Ethereal Supreme's mandate) Aun'El Ksi'm'yen Tor'hos exited his Il'Porrui Cruiser, escorted by his Honor Guards.

As he entered the Ksi'm'yen Orbital Command Center, all Tau within saluted him. The Air Caste Admiral and the Tau Fire Caste Commander of Ksi'm'yen kneeled in front of him.

"Holy One. We awaited your arrival with anxiety."

"What is the status of our defenses, Admiral?"

"We have recalled all Kor'vattra elements in the Sept. Some outlying colonies have been evacuated, the inhabitants brought to the colonies of Dal'yth. We have even reactivated the Reserve Defense Fleet. Our crews are ready, and our Orbitals are awaiting your commands. We will resist."

"Commander Shas' O'Kais?"

"Holy One, I have redeployed 5000 more Fire Caste warriors with me from Fi'rios. In addition to the 54.000 of the Ksi'm'yen Sept Coalition, on land we are secure. The Vespids have deployed 13000 of their warriors to assist us. The Kroot clans are manning the Fi'rios defenses against the Orks."

"Good. I have brought here the entire T'au Second Fleet. In addition, I have paid the entire Dulvan Brotherhood of Demiurg to support us in the upcoming battle."

As he spoke, the Brotherhood's fleet appeared. 5 Bastion-class Cruisers, aligned around their Stronghold in a perfect defensive formation. Dozens of fighters and mining vehicles flew around them, matching speed and heading.

"They have embarked additional fighter personnel, while their mining craft are being retrofitted with Tau armaments as we speak."

"The Ethereal Council has also agreed to release from storage one of the Custodian-class Battleship prototypes for use in the battle. The _A'Rho_. It will be your new command ship, Admiral."

The Tau Admiral was awed. A Custodian. The most powerful ship the Tau had ever managed to build until then. The only ship they possessed could challenge Ork battlecruisers and win.

When the Third Sphere Expansion had been declared, several new shipyards had been built to construct them. The Tau had ordered them reserved for use only against the most powerful enemies, due to the horrendous costs involved in their construction…

"Admiral, Commander, the successful prosecution of the Third Sphere rests entirely on this battle. We cannot fail."

"We shall not fail. FOR THE GREATER GOOD!"

* * *

-Interstellar void-

Vykus Skayle reanalyzed the tactical scenario of the upcoming battle: the world the Tau called Ksi'm'yen.

Apparently, it was a lost human colony the Tau had convinced to join the Empire. They had never heard of the Imperium and lived under a greedy King, so the decision was out of their control.

There was a key difference between the Morralian War and this situation. This time, the Tau knew they were coming. And he had no way to insert an agent into the enemy population to sow dissent without them knowing it.

So, he had to conduct a full-scale open battle this time. No artifice, except tactical ones…but he could still make use of some "dishonourable tricks", as those belonging to other Legions derisively called them.

He had contacts within the Officio Assassinorum…and those contacts had supplied him with some of their men.

This was the right occasion to use them…

-Ksi'm'yen-

A pod streaked in space. The Tau had scanned it and identified it as an artificial object, which they promptly destroyed.

This, however, made them ignore the asteroid which was making a 400.000 kilometers close pass on the planet. From it, two Assassin pods launched out, heading straight for the planet.

The decoy pod (actually a standard Navy pattern Salvation Pod with a rocket booster attached) had served the Assassins well.

Pod Number 1 hit the ground on an island, 40 kilometers off the coast of the inhabited continent. From it an unclear shape, a lithe human female, exited. The woman saw a fisherman with his wooden boat, trying to catch some fishes for his dinner. A C'tan Phase Knife ended his life, while the Polymorphine the Assassin triggered and allowed her to assume the shape of the man. Now an exact replica of the man she had killed, the Assassin turned the boat in the opposite direction and headed for the cities.

Pod Number 2 crashed just outside a small village, inhabited by newly-arrived settlers from a Tau colony in the Vash'ya Sept. The inhabitants arrived to check…and went to their deaths, as the masterfully-engineered killing machine deployed his talents, sniping at them from a long range with his Exitus Rifle.

This caused the Tau Fire Caste to investigate, and allow the Assassin to slip into the city by capturing one of their recon vehicles and using it to reach the city…

PRIMARY OBJECTIVE: TERMINATE THE TAU ETHEREALS.

SECONDARY OBJECTIVE: TERMINATE FIRE CASTE COMMANDERS.

SECONDARY OBJECTIVE: DISABLE ORBITAL DEFENSES.

What they did not know, was that another player was entering the game…from the depths of intergalactic space…

* * *

 _-Ksi'm'yen-_

 _The Purestrain entered the Royal Palace. He had gone in through the doors the Princess, the mother of the Magus, had left unlocked._

 _He entered the Main Tower, where the King was sleeping. Slowly, but surely, it made his way towards the King's room._

 _Two guards were outside the door. The creature hissed, attracting one of them. His arms gripped him and tore him apart, silently, while the other tried to enter the King's room, but was shot by the Princess, who was holding a Tau Pulse Pistol._

 _The Genestealer thus found his way open, and quickly attacked the still-sleeping King. His ovipositor thrust itself within his throat, sedating him while the retrovirus entered his bloodstream._

 _His mission complete, the Genestealer exited the palace, completely unseen._

 _Two days later, the Ksi'm'yen Gue'vesa King, Anaxandridas VII, at the presence of the Ethereal Aun'Vre Ksi'm'yen Fra'ghol, voluntarily renounced his crown, claiming "his One God had spoken to him in his sleep, asking of him to give up all his riches and become a poor among the poor, a follower among all others, to have the doors of Heaven opened to him."_

 _His successor was Euphiletos I, who was still a minor, no matter how gifted he could be. Under the ancient laws of Koronta, The Queen Regent, Elpinice, Euphiletos' mother, was crowned that same day, to hold the throne until Euphiletos reached 20 years of age. Unknown to all, the young boy was also the Magus of the Cult of the Innerwyrm._

 _The Innerwyrm's coup was now complete._

 _A noblewoman attending the coronation was visibly pregnant. Her foetus felt something from the void…an approaching shadow in the Warp…and reacted. A new differentiative program activated, beginning a long process which would turn what should have been another Hybrid like many others into a general on par with many ancient war-leaders of history, with access to aeons of strategic expertise taken from the Hive Mind…_

 _And in the void, another Queen, one far more powerful than the one who had just been enthroned, felt it. Awakening her slumbering fleet, she directed it towards the newly-detected planet, while she began to create the Alpha strain of the Swarm by splicing the genetic material stored in her gene-banks. The Narvhals began to fold space-time, allowing the Hive Fleet to rapidly proceed to the rich and verdant planet which it had detected…_

* * *

AN: So much for the "civilized" Tau...

What do you think? The final battle is coming...Please review.


	8. Leviathan

CHAPTER 8: Ksi'm'yen's uprising.

Time: 995. M41

 _"The time is now. Annihilate the non-believers, and prove yourself worthy to the coming Angels!" – Queen Mother Elpinice I to the human and Tau members of the Cult of the Innerwyrm on Ksi'm'yen, on the eve of the Ksi'm'yen Uprising._

 _"What is that cloud? Seal off the door! Seal off…." -Last words of Kor'Ui Bork'an Tsuaara, member of the crew of the Or'Es El'leath T'au A'rho-_

-Ksi'm'yen-

In the ancestral castle of the monarchy of Koronta, the adherents of the Cult listened intently to their Magus, the newly-crowned King. Though he looked not older than twelve, his psychic power was such that the assembly was entirely in his thrall.

Just as he had said in the Book of Prophecies, the earth was shaking. Rivers were flowing out of their path, destroying several villages of unbelievers. Volcanoes were erupting simultaneously all across the land of ancient Koronta. All he had foreseen for many years was coming true.

"And so the time has come, my faithful followers. The earth itself shakes to prove to those who are willing to listen that the End Times have come! The Time of Ascension is now! We must remove the unbelievers, so they do not foul the air of Paradise!"

Thus began the Ksi'm'yen Revolt. The Tau Fire Caste had been deployed on high alert to fight against the Daggerfangs, but was unprepared for a massive revolt of humans and Tau behind him.

Kor'O Ksi'm'yen Wran'shash, Earth Caste overseer, was working at his post, revising the prototype XV104 Riptide suit delivered from T'au when a Tau Cultist shot him with a Pulse Rifle, killing him. The cultist was killed by the Tau Fire Caste, but the main technical specialist of Ksi'm'yen was dead. His decades-long experience was now forever lost to all.

That was the first shot. It would not be the last.

Law and order broke down utterly. Humans and Tau alike rampaged in the streets, hurling themselves against loyal Tau and the Vespid Stingwings. The rebels used Tau Pulse Rifles against their designers, while the Purestrains and the Maelignaci used their claws, finally free to be unleashed in the light, not hidden in the shadows.

Soon, blood began to flow in the streets, as the cultists savagely killed the Tau and the Tau had no choice but to fire back and defend themselves. The Vespid Stingwings reaped most of the casualties among the cultists. Thousands were flayed by the Neutron Blasters, but thousands more rose from the streets, guided by the superhuman tactical intelligence of the Primus. The Innerwyrm had madness, alien strength and the element of surprise on their side, making up for their technical disadvantage.

Even the planet itself was shaking from the revolt. Earthquakes were roiling the land. Long-sleeping volcanoes began reactivating, spewing incandescent lava in the atmosphere. The very seas were in turmoil, with several coastal areas flooded by hurricanes of never-seen-before strength, which destroyed entire human settlements.

* * *

 _-Main city of Ksi'm'yen-_

 _The Callidus Assassin assumed the shape of a Tau Fire Caste warrior. Her original mission was now impossible. With the Tyranids approaching, she needed to find a way to extract. The Tau leadership was already in shambles. Proceeding with her mission would give the Tyranids a clear tactical advantage._

 _She headed to the main Tau barricades, hoping to disguise herself amidst the chaos. She picked up a Tau Pulse Rifle and began firing against the cultists of the Innerwyrm._

 _A Maelignaci hybrid rushed towards her, holding a mining cutter. She fired._

 _The cultist dropped dead. She then resumed firing at the other cultists._

 _As she dropped cultist after cultist, she mentally filed away all information on Tau emergency defense tactics, to be brought back to Imperial space…. if she lived through this hell._

 _She saw an Ethereal, one of the Tau ruling caste, try to rally the troops and call for resistance…only to be hit by a sniper bullet. Too big an exit wound to be a cultist's doing._

 _She smiled. Her companion had done it. Knowing him, he would have proceeded with the mission no matter what._

 _As she saw the Tau break in panic and fall back, she followed them. Her best bet to live was to escape the surface along with the Tau. Then, as soon as she was clear from the Tyranids, she would seize the transport and head back to Imperial Space with the data she had gathered…_

* * *

The Tau fleet in orbit was largely unaffected by the chaos playing out on the planet below, but the star itself was experiencing an unprecedented level of activity. Solar flares erupted, showering the system in high doses of radiation. All ships of the Tau fleet had to enact radiation protocols and keep their ships' Shields raised at all times to prevent radiation poisoning.

The agonizing deaths of the crew of the _Ksi'm'yen Il'fannor Bunen_ were proof enough of the need for such measures. The Ethereal, the Fire Caste Commander and the Admiral were completely shocked. One moment they were preparing themselves for battle against an outside enemy and the next they were facing an all-out battle against their own subjects and some insane Tau, in a star system where the known laws of physics were being rewritten, with gravitational forces behaving in completely aberrant ways.

And this, all because of an entity and a cult they had underestimated.

They would soon realize _how much_ they misunderstood the size and scope of what they were facing.

From below the galactic plane, the first Bio-ships arrived. The outlying Tau ships were destroyed by the incoming Tyranid frigates, their fire a mere nuisance to the swarm of living vessels.

Soon, the Razorfiend and Devourer Cruiser bio ships appeared. The living ships tore through the Tau ships, disgorging Boarding Spores which would deliver the Devourer inside the Tau fleet.

- _Dal'yth Gal'leath Vraur_ , Mark XXII T'au pattern-

The Tau crewmembers of the Gal'leath had never faced something like the creature they were facing. The enormous living pod opened, revealing an enormous clawed creature. The creature crouched, then rose. It-he or she seemed inapplicable to the creature-had suddenly birthed dozens of smaller creatures. The Tau fired their Pulse Rifles, but the creatures were too many. They fired some bullets similar to ticks, which latched onto the Tau's armor and even upon the XV8 Crisis Battlesuit of the Shas'Vre, eating through it and delivering an agonizing death.

Behind them, another pod crashed. This time it disgorged a different creature, It sported an enormous carapace, painted in white and blue, and screeched.

Shas'La T'au Vramin fired his Pulse Rifle. The creature was barely scratched. It charged him. He hastily closed the bulkhead, but the creature smashed through it as if it were paper. It impaled him, and then brought it to his mouth, which opened.

The Shas'La had barely enough time to scream before the creature thrust him down his mouth and began chewing him alive. The pain was unbearable. For six long seconds, the Tau warrior screamed…until the cranium was punctured by the razor-sharp teeth of the Carnifex.

The brain cortex stopped functioning, too damaged from the razor-sharp teeth's onslaught and finally the Shas'La felt no more pain.

He was one of the lucky ones. Others remained alive long enough to feel the agony caused by the powerful Tyranid proteolytic enzymes melting down their body cell by cell while _inside_ the Carnifex's digestive tract…

- _Or'Es El'Leath T'au_ _A'rho_ , flagship of the Tau fleet. -

This new enemy was assaulting the fleet and tearing it apart, while other ships headed straight from the planet. While the Defense Grid fired all weapons it could, they could only kill a fraction of them, such was their number. From those ships, strange objects (Mycetic Spores) dropped, releasing countless types of creatures which devoured everything in their path.

Some of them released foot soldiers which had some sort of rifle attached to their arms. Those who were hit by their "bullets" found themselves digested by powerful enzymes secreted by the insects which actually made up the projectiles.

Others landed, releasing more powerful creatures which rallied the lesser ones in their vicinity and allowed them to conduct complex battle maneuvers.

Others still broke up in mid-air, releasing flying creatures which provided air support to the Horde, rivalling the Tau Air Caste Barracudas with sheer numbers and aeons of knowledge delivered by the Synapse Creatures.

Meanwhile, on the ground, the situation had become desperate for the Tau. Undermined from within by the Innerwyrm's converts and besieged from without by an enemy they had never faced, the Tau pleaded for evacuation.

Their Ethereal, Aun'ghol had attempted to rally them and force them to resist, until a .50 caliber bullet fired from afar killed him. It was then that the will of the Tau completely broke, becoming all-out panic. Emergency evacuation signals soon were issued from all remaining Tau-held positions.

They fell back to the Spaceport, all the while pleading the orbiting fleet for evacuation. All transports, no matter what Caste they belonged to, were beset by a frenzied horde of Tau evacuees, civilian or Fire Caste.

Ironically, the Cultists, who had welcomed the Tyranids' invasion, were torn limb from limb as well, all equally prey to the Swarm they had worshiped for years...

 _-Ksi'm'yen Spaceport-_

 _The Tau Fire Caste Shas'Ui slumped down, dead. The Purestrain Genestealer turned towards the others, but a quick Pulse Rifle shot downed him._

 _The Callidus Assassin soon found herself in command of a Tau Fire Caste squad. She led them towards a refueling Manta and allowed them to board it. A group of panicking Cultists, fleeing their Gods after their Queen had been devoured by a flying creature, tried to board it, but they were soon silenced. The Air Caste pilot disengaged the fueling pods, started the engines and fired them up. Meanwhile, the Fire Caste squads improvised as emergency gunners._

 _Soon, they were assaulted by a swarm of Gargoyles, which tried to melt down the ship's hull with highly corrosive liquids. The guns of the Manta began firing, shooting down several of them, but the rest began making a dent in the hull of the ship. The Callidus noticed a Shrike leading the pack and fired at it._

 _The shot severed its head, sending it down to the surface. The Gargoyles, without the Synapse Creature's influence, began fighting among themselves. The Air Caste pilot managed to get them in space without further interference. The Callidus ordered him to get as away from the planet as he could._

 _As he did, the crew saw a Lar'shi cruiser being crushed and snapped in half by a Tyranid tentacle, the action venting the crew into the void. They saw the bodies being devoured by a swarm of Tyranid frigates._

 _A sight the 23 Tau and the 1 human onboard the gunship would never forget._

The fleet, however was besieged as well. Assaulted by the Bio-ships, it was killing many creatures , but many more took the fallen ships' place.

The Razorfiend Heavy Cruisers were mauling the Tau vessels with pure brute force. Tentacles smashed through the hulls, ripping them apart and exposing the interior to the cold vacuum of space. The irreparably damaged Bio-ships made suicide runs on the Tau Orbitals or went down to the surface, breaking up in atmospheric reentry and releasing their deadly cargo through Mycetic Spores. The Defense Grid was nearly exhausted after shooting down hundreds of ships. Every now and then, a Security Orbital was disabled by the kamikaze attacks of the Tyranid ships, further complicating the situation for the defenders.

It was then, that the Queen of the Swarm entered the field. Four large Hive Ships appeared from the Z-axis of the system, swatting away the Tau ships like flies with Pyro-cannons and hull-crushing tentacles.

Aboard one of them, the Queen was directing the battle. Seeing through the Sensory Nodes of the Bio-ships, which acted as her "eyes", the ancient Queen saw the _A'rho_. Identifying it as the biological creatures' "queen-ship", she directed one of the hive-ships to assault it.

The Razorfiend Cruisers placed themselves into defensive formation, absorbing the Tau escorts' fire and concentrating their fire upon the escorts.

The massive Hive Ship, completely undamaged, proceeded to directly assault the _A'rho_. Tentacles hit the ship's hull. The shields held up. Barely.

The _A'rho_ fired back with Railguns, severing the tentacles. The _A'rho_ gave all power to the engines, attempting to escape the Hive Ship.

But the Queen, invested with aeons of knowledge, had predicted such an outcome. So she redirected one damaged Tyranid Cruiser to ram the _A'rho_. The impact did not destroy the ship, but gravely damaged it. The Tyranid bio-forms contained in the dying Cruiser, which remained partially stuck inside the Tau vessel, promptly rushed aboard the Tau battleship, led by a Tyranid Warrior Prime. The crew fought, but this distracted them from executing repairs.

A Tyranid frigate rushed to the _A'rho_. It extended tentacles which firmly grasped the ship and towed it back to the damaged Hive Ship. Subsequently, the Frigate latched itself onto the Hive Ship, allowing itself to be recycled for energy by the massive vessel.

The now-fully empowered Hive Ship engulfed the Tau battleship, pulling it inside. The crew, still fighting against the Tyranid bioforms which had boarded the ship earlier, were then assaulted by the internal metalloproteases, proteases, and countless other types of lytic enzymes stored inside the macrocells that made up the Tyranid digestive apparatus and that the ship released simultaneously. Not even starship grade metals could resist such power, perfected after consuming countless galaxies of metal and flesh.

Thus The Ethereal, the Admiral and Shas'O Kais, the valiant Conqueror of Fi'rios, died, melted alive and reduced back to their component lipids, aminoacids, carbohydrates and other biological elements alongside their vaunted ship, which had destroyed hundreds of Tyranid bioforms in the battle.

All was converted into new fuel for the Swarm.

The battle ended not long after that. The loss of the _A'rho_ along with the Ethereal and the entire Command staff sent the remaining Tau ships and the Demiurg into a panic. The fleet dispersed, seeking to escape and bring back word of what had just happened to other Septs of the Empire so that they might better defend themselves. The Shadow in the Warp however blocked them, condemning them to sublight velocities. Still, they ran, hoping the Tyranids would not pursue them.

The Tyranids did not pursue them, only attacking those who were too slow to escape. A Demiurg Bastion-class cruiser remained behind to hold up the Tyranids and allow the others to escape.

After all other ships had escaped, the Bastion self-destructed, taking five Bio-ships along with it.

The newly arrived Daggerfangs fleet witnessed the entire battle from a distance, near the Mandeville Point.

Vykus Skayle's blood froze. He never thought it could be possible…yet that was how he felt.

Seeing a Tau battleship demolished by Tyranid digestive enzymes was a sight he would never have wanted to see. No one, not even the Tau, deserve such a fate. The Traitor Legions…maybe…

"What is the status of the enemy fleets?"

"The Tau and the allied vessels have dispersed throughout the system, waiting for the Shadow to dissipate. The Tyranids have won, Sir."

"Yes, that they did. Now, there is one thing we can do."

Vykus Skayle's face hardened.

"We deny the Swarm its prize. On my authority as Commander, I hereby invoke Exterminatus upon the world designated "Ksi'm'yen."" He then turned to his second in command.

"Deliver me the Codex Mortis." Two serfs pulled out the book and gave it to Lord Skayle.

Vykus Skayle opened the Codex Mortis and wrote down the date and time of the issuing of the Exterminatus order.

It was a security measure placed by Warmaster Mortarion, in order to make sure the order was not executed lightly.

At the same time, a second and a third man were called to the bridge. They were the Chief Apothecary and the Master of the Forge. All three had to concur for the Exterminatus order to be issued and executed.

Another security measure put in place by Warmaster Mortarion after the Great Purification, where several mortal and Astartes commanders taken by madness and bloodthirst, invoked the dreadful command without it being actually needed. The dead worlds of the Jayneleb Sector, numbering in the dozens, still stand as a cautionary lesson where Exterminatus was invoked without need and innocents paid a price which they were not required to pay.

This time, however, there was no such debate. All three rapidly concurred on the need to execute the order.

The only debate that remained was how to execute it. With the Tyranids now busy preparing to harvest the planet's biomass, they were weak. However, after the biomass' harvest, they would be at the height of their power. This meant they had to act quickly and decisively.

This ruled out Cyclonic Torpedoes and Virus Bombs. Too dangerous with the little time they had left. This left only one option out of the arsenal currently available to the Daggerfangs.

An Atmospheric Incinerator Torpedo. The same weapon that delivered the symbolic deathblow to the Great Crusade and the Emperor's dream, through its usage on Ancalimon Prime at the outset of the Heresy. This dark historical record led it to being used most sparingly, in favor of other methods with less historical infamy.

The Daggerfangs would assault the Hive Fleet, and destroy the Hive Ships, while giving time for a Weapon-Frigate to deploy the Torpedo.

All they needed to do was to allow it to reach the upper atmosphere.

"Lord Skayle, the Cruiser _Lambda-10_ is reporting problems with a tertiary drive core."

"Tell it to drop out of formation. We will have to make do without them."

"Yes, sir."

"All other ships, charge!"

The Daggerfangs launched themselves at the Tyranid ships, which were intent on harvesting the planetary biomass. The Swarm was also slightly exhausted from the battle against the Tau, making the Hive Fleet easier prey than it would have been before.

The Queen noticed the incoming fleet and telepathically redirected the Cruisers to defend the Hive Ships while they gorged themselves on the planet.

A planet which was now unrecognizable. Gone were the forests, replaced by ravening Ripper swarms which burrowed into the ground to gather any and all remaining biomass. Gone were the cities, where Trygons had made their abode, while other harvesting creatures gathered all metals to be integrated into Tyranid carapaces.

The main city of Koronta had become a single, enormous, Capillary Tower. From it, the air itself was filtrated and delivered to the Hive Ship connected to it. Nitrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide, Sulphur…every kind of compound could be recycled by the Hive Mind, capable of chemical reactions which should have been rendered impossible by the very laws of thermodynamics, made possible by enzymes perfected over countless aeons. The palaces and the homes of the humans, both cultist and uninfected, were now home to Reclamation Pools, where the bloated Rippers threw themselves to recycle themselves along with the biomass they had gathered. Other Tyranid creatures did the same, their bloody purpose complete.

Other Towers of similar length rose from the oceans, having taken root and germinated in the deep abyss. All sealife was now hunted down by the Tyranid marine bio-forms, to be recycled and its DNA to be spliced together by the Queen to create ever more deadly bioforms, to be used in the next assaults.

* * *

 _-Main City of Ksi'm'yen_

 _The Vindicare Assassin sniped another Harpy trying to hit him from above. He was running low on ammo. He had expended most of it against the Cult's hierarchy and the Tau Ethereal, the rest he had expended on Tyranid Synapse Creatures and on those that had spotted him._

 _He pulled out his last magazine. He counted 10 bullets in it. So he could kill 9 more Tyranids._

 _Because it would be obvious that the tenth bullet would be the one for him. Better that than being digested alive by a Tyranid. Of that he was certain._

 _And he knew deep down that even the Emperor would agree with him._

* * *

The Daggerfangs' surprise attack was working. The Hive Ships were busy engorging themselves with Ksi'm'yen's biomass, while the others were rushing the Astartes ships, concentrating their fire upon the biggest ships. They were weak, though, their attacks being not as powerful as they were against the Tau.

So the small Sword-class frigate, silently running towards the planet was completely ignored.

Exactly as Skayle had predicted.

The Sword-class frigate carried only 1 torpedo in its tubes. Yet, when it was fired, the entire battle changed.

 _"I sign the death warrant of a world, to spare countless others an agonizing death."-Rite of Exterminatus Opening Parable, Codex Mortis._

As it reached the upper atmosphere, the arcane plasma-phosphex device contained within the warhead activated, igniting the mixture of foul gases that once were the atmosphere of Koronta.

On the surface, the Tyranid creatures were burned alive by the shockwave and the firestorm that ensued. The Ripper swarms were the first to die. The bigger creatures, such as Carnifexes and Hive Tyrants, took longer to die, thrashing in agony for long minutes. The Capillary Towers began to burn as well, the fire propagating itself to the Hive Ships in orbit. One of those was not fast enough in disengaging itself, and the Astartes beheld the unique image of a Hive Ship burning _in vacuum_.

Such is the nature of Phosphex: not even the Void can stop it.

The remaining ships, weakened by the battle and robbed by the Exterminatus action of the considerable biomass of Ksi'm'yen, were soon beset by a combined arms fire barrage from the Daggerfangs' ships. Lances, Missiles, even a pair of Cyclonic Torpedoes reused as Area-of Effect weapons. Against such firepower, not even the Tyranids could resist.

The Queen's ship was also boarded by the Lernaean Terminators, led by Skayle himself, who proceeded to destroy any birthing chambers they could find. generating what could only be described as spasms of pain inside the enemy ship.

The Tyranids attempted to repel them. At first made up of Rippers and Termagants, the opposition was soon dispatched by the Lernaeans. They soon made headway in the gigantic living corridors of the ship.

But as they neared the ship's central chamber, an Hive Tyrant, just born from an incubation sac in the wall, reorganized the swarm into a cohesive unit, and began to take their toll upon the Twentieth Legion.

Vykus Skayle himself was wounded by the creature, impaled upon the creature's bladed arms. Yet, before he lost consciousness due to massive internal bleeding, he managed to throw two Frag Grenades into the creature's maw.

As the Tyrant looked at him, ready for the kill, the grenades exploded, destroying its head and killing it in the process.

The swarm, however, did not break. And the reason for it was soon revealed. A giant sphincter-like door opened, and behind it, was the Astartes' worst possible nightmare. One that they could not fight.

A Dominatrix.

The Apothecaries linked their teleport beacons and activated them, beaming themselves and the wounded body of Vykus Skayle back to the Daggerfangs 'fleet.

The Terminators did the same, but five of them did not get the chance, as they were melted down alive by the Dominatrix's corrosive weapons.

The fleet responded by bombarding the Hive Ship with any kind of ordnance until it died. The Queen died in the explosion, but in her death throes, she delivered a massive blow to the Daggerfangs.

A massive psychic shockwave, approaching Level Gamma-12 intensity, ensued. This fried the minds of every Astropath and Navigator in the Astartes fleet, killing them in the process. Luckily, due to the Shadow in the Warp, no daemons were able to get through them into realspace.

The Librarians of the Daggerfangs barely survived. But they were forced to spend hours recovering from the psychic explosion.

The fleet was stuck in place, orbiting a still-burning planet crowned by a ring of Tau and Tyranid wrecks, in danger of further Tau attacks.

* * *

- _Outer Ksi'm'yen system-_

 _The Manta came towards the Daggerfangs Cruiser Lambda-10. The hangar doors of the Cruiser opened, allowing the massive Tau gunship entry._

 _The Manta landed on the hangar floor. From it, a single Tau emerged._

 _The Tau then reverted to its form of a human female in a black suit._

 _From her mouth came only three words._

 _"I am Alpharius."_

 _In the following days, the Techmarines would extensively study the Manta, trying to understand the technology and the weaponry installed aboard….._

* * *

Attacks that never came.

The few surviving Tau ships and the Demiurg ships jumped away as soon as the Shadow dissipated, spreading word to other Tau Septs. Panic and dread soon followed. The Ethereal Council ordered the now-cut off Sept of Fi'rios to be evacuated.

The Ma'creir'ynt would be evacuated as well, resettled upon a suitable world in the D'yanoi Sept.

By decree of the Ethereal Council, the Third Sphere Expansion was aborted. All available resources would be focused on preparing for defense against further attacks by the Swarm.

The Ethereal Council, after much research, concluded that the Kroot were able to identify the infected Tau and humans. Kroot Clans were soon stationed on every planet of the Empire, and discovered two cults similar to the one that had doomed Ksi'm'yen: one in the Es'Tau Sept and another on a Gue'vesa colony in the Bork'an Sept. The two planets were promptly purged by orbital bombardment, after the Kroots had conclusively identified all uninfected Tau and evacuated them.

Had a Kroot clan been present at Ksi'm'yen, the battle could have gone much differently.

In the Tau empire, the events of the year 995.M41 became known as The Failed Sphere. A year of mourning was declared, during which all Tau factories would redouble their production quotas and ensure that the upcoming Fourth Sphere Expansion would not follow the same path as the Third.

* * *

 _REPORT #535299,_

 _From Deathwatch Watch Fortress Uedama to Ordo Xenos HQ._

 _Watch Captain Dulth Thedth reporting._

 _We completed analysis upon the Tyranid DNA recovered from the battlefields in Segmentums Tempestus and Pacificus._

 _Only a slight genetic deviation (for Tyranids, that is) from the data recovered by the Alpha Legion fleet during the Skayle Incursion of 994-995.M41._

 _Lord Skayle, who barely survived, fully cooperated with the Deathwatch personnel._

 _It is therefore the Deathwatch's opinion that the Destruction of the Tau planet known as "Ksi'm'yen" should be officially reclassified as the Imperium's first contact with the Hive Fleet designated "Leviathan" and as the official beginning of the Third Tyrannic War._

 _END FILE._

* * *

AN : DONE! Despite Real-Life, I have done it. I have completed this story.

To Nox: Vykus Skayle _believed_ the Assassins were from Terra...he does not know about the Callidus' true loyalties...

HISTORICAL NOTE: In the Cyclopean Heresy timeline, the Tyranids follow a different path inside the galaxy. Hive Fleet Behemoth strikes in the north, from the Ghoul Stars. Hive Fleet Gorgon took another path, thus it never entered the Tau Empire and thus the Tau were completely unprepared for the Tyranid assault.


End file.
